2 killed, 165 injured in massive blast in southern Kazakhstan

Two people were killed and 165 others sustained injuries after an explosion rocked a military depot in the southern province of Turkestan, country's Ministry of Internal Affairs said on Tuesday.

The blast occurred on Monday morning in the southern town of Arys. As many as 41,000 residents of the town have been evacuated following the incident, reported Xinhua news agency.

Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Yuri Ilyin said that one person was killed after his car was hit by the shell, while the body of other person was found near the military unit during the search operations.

The blasts were preceded by a massive fire at the military unit.

"At present, it is impossible to extinguish (the) fire at the military unit because of the explosion of the shells. There are 23 groups of firefighters working in Arys. Evacuation measures are ongoing, (and) 2815 people were evacuated from the territory of the emergency. More than 41,000 people have left the town," the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs said.

Country's Defence Ministry has deployed more than 1200 soldiers to evacuate residents of the town, as well as to ensure public order.

A state of emergency has been declared in the Turkestan province.